Q&A
demand in how that impacts costs. I would say this, from a technology development what we’re looking to do in our long- term plans [is] for component systems that drive down costs, that are getting, I would say better performance, more range. The reality is, in the near-term, those are still very low volume systems, and you know that at the end day that battery-electric vehicles will be significantly more expensive than internal combustion engines from a scale perspective. There was the [viewpoint] that battery cell cost was going to start to come down, and then you really saw the sup- ply chain crunch … I would say commodities that go into battery development spiked. So, prices went up. We were dealing with that. And now, too, it is absolute- ly true in these early days [that] funding is critically important to kind of drive the early devel- opment of those early adopters. And as that either steps down or is removed, then the cost obviously goes up, and that then kind of lowers volume. I wouldn’t say it’s going to stop our progress, but it will certainly have an impact and slow it. But again, we see it as a long-term view, that it’s not an if, it’s a when. Now that one, I can’t tell you, but it’s still a situation where we probably got to have the infrastructure coming back in. There’s got to be some level of subsidies for that. In the meantime, we’re all working in unison to bring better technology to market at a lower cost, so that takes time to do, collectively.
STN: We’ve also seen an industry trend toward bigger
electric school buses. Do you have any plans that you’re willing to talk about as to an eventual electric HDX2? Reed: I’ll foreshadow this. Some great news is coming.
But what I would tell you is we absolutely see the need in the market. We absolutely see the need in our product port- folio, and we have some great solutions, so stay tuned.
STN: Daimler Trucks North American recently added
investment into Detroit Diesel, and the California Air Re- sources Board ceased seeking additional federal waivers to fully implement its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule
32 School Transportation News • MARCH 2025
for heavy-duty trucks. How do these developments impact the school bus market? Reed: The Detroit Diesel
Diesel is going to continue to play a role as well as other modes of
propulsion. We’re invested in all. ...
You’ve got to have answers for all
your customers, no matter what their duty cycle is.”
investment, that’s more for our heavy-duty products, more on the truck side. Everything that we do on the school bus is medi- um range. That’s Cummins, our partner there. When you look at that, just in terms of diesel, we believe you need all types because the applications are so vast, that the use cases are so different that you need a lot of different technologies to drive to zero emissions. Diesel has a crit- ical role to play. And you’re right, with a lot of investment not only by us in our proprietary engines but our partners from Cummins and our competitors as well, it is continuing to lower emissions. You’ve got GHG phase three that will be coming in 2027. There’s additional tailpipe reductions. All those are being engineered into our buses now. I mean signifi- cantly lower NOx and particulate
matter, even over the last 10 years. These are much cleaner running engines today. There are requirements, yes, for the ACT rule, where in some states, in order to be able to sell internal combustion engines, you have to have a certain number of battery electric. But that’s been, I would say, one of the success stories of the Clean School Bus Program. It’s seeded enough diesel capability or opportunity in some of these states, we haven’t had an issue with that. Diesel is going to continue to play a role as well as other modes of propulsion. We’re invested in all.
STN: And in terms of gasoline or octane, Thomas is
also coming out with an option provided by Cummins in 2026 or 2027. Reed: We’re making investments across different
modes of propulsion, different emissions technologies. You’ve got to have answers for all your customers, no matter what their duty cycle is. And octane, you know, gasoline will play a big role for that. We’re excited about that as well.
STN: Thank you. ●
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